Billiards Table vs. Pool Table

There are many sizes and styles of pool and billiard tables. Generally, tables are rectangles twice as long as they are wide. Most pool tables are known as 7-, 8-, or 9-footers, referring to the length of the table's long side, though a standard size used now is approximately 9ft by 4.5ft. Traditionally for Billiards, 12ft long table was common but these days 10ft tables remain the standard size for billiard games. The slates on modern billiard tables are usually heated to stave off moisture and provide a consistent playing surface. A Pool table has a bed made of three pieces of thick slate to prevent warping and changes due to humidity.

Comparison chart

Billiards Table

Pool Table

Cloth

The table is covered with a finely-woven cloth called baize, normally made of 100% worsted wool. The cloth is traditionally green, representing the lawn that the ancestral games were played on. Today, many colors are available.

The table is usually covered with baize. The home and bar/pub market often calls for blends and even 100% synthetics, and has driven the demand for a wide array of color choices and even prints (e.g. team or company logos).

Size

A standard carom billiard table has a playing surface of 2.84 by 1.42 m (9.3 by 4.7 ft.), though some American models are 10 by 5 ft. (3 by 1.5 m). Some games, such as English billiards are played on tables as large as 12 by 6 ft. (3.7 by 1.8 m).

A standard pool table has a playing surface of 9 by 4.5 ft. (2.7 by 1.4 m), although smaller 8 by 4 and 7 by 3.5 ft. and even smaller models are common in homes and bars/pubs. Larger 10 by 5 ft. versions were common until the 1920s.